


Inauspicious Circumstances

by kjack89



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Relationship, Emergency room, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-02
Updated: 2014-12-02
Packaged: 2018-02-27 22:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2708441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjack89/pseuds/kjack89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marius and Cosette meet for the first time. It doesn't exactly happen the way Marius planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inauspicious Circumstances

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to publish this one separately, despite its brevity.
> 
> Usual disclaimer applies. Please be kind and tip your fanfic writers in the form of comments and/or kudos!

“Ow,” said Marius, a little vaguely from where he was lying at an odd angle, tangled up with his bike.

A figure blurred into view and he blinked, her features becoming clearer as she asked concernedly, “Sir, are you alright? You crashed your bike into a tree.”

“Oh no,” Marius groaned, closing his eyes and fervently wishing that the earth would swallow him whole, because the figure currently looking down at him was the very girl he had been following and was probably the reason why he crashed his bicycle, since he had been paying far more attention to her than to where he was going. And of course, this also meant that her first impression of him was, well, this. “Oh no, oh no, oh no…”

For one glorious moment she said nothing and Marius, who hadn’t opened his eyes yet, wondered if the earth really had swallowed him. But then she said, to someone obviously not Marius, concern still evident in her voice, “Yeah, I saw the whole thing. He crashed his bike into a tree, and I think he might have hit his head.”

Marius opened his eyes to find, in addition to his blonde beauty, two other people looking down at him, clearly wearing paramedic uniforms, the flashing lights of an ambulance just visible behind them, and he groaned and closed his eyes again.

Courfeyrac was never going to let him hear the end of this.

For her part, Cosette was more concerned than anything, though she was also trying to tamp down the amusement she felt at the situation, because the young man was clearly quite injured and she _really_ shouldn’t find that funny — what would the nuns that helped raise her think? — but at the same time, it had been like something out of _America’s Funniest Home Videos_. She had been watching the cute young man riding his bike because, well, he was cute, and then without warning he had crashed face-first into a tree.

“I’m going with him,” Cosette told the paramedics as they began to load the young gentleman into the ambulance, because really, the guy should obviously not be alone, judging by the way he was groaning and kept trying to shake his head and, for some reason, refused to open his eyes.

“That’s fine,” one of the paramedics said distractedly. “You can help us with his medical history for intake.”

Cosette blushed slightly at that, because this was a situation that would take some explaining. “Oh, I don’t actually know him,” she said. “I just witnessed the accident. I’ve never actually met him before today.”

The guy’s eyes fluttered open, and Cosette was struck by how very green his eyes were. “I’m Marius,” he said, somehow extricating his hand and holding it out weakly towards her. “Marius Pontmercy.”

“Oh,” Cosette said, smiling, “I’m Cosette.” She took his hand to shake it, and those very green eyes rolled back and Marius Pontmercy, it seemed, promptly passed out.

* * *

“Did you see the sign?” the police officer asked, a little brusquely, and Marius readjusted the ice pack he was currently holding against his head and shrugged. “The sign that said that the path you were riding your bicycle on was for foot traffic only?”

“I obviously didn’t,” Marius said waspishly, his temper soured by everything that had happened, though he quickly shrank into himself and added in a much politer tone, “I was distracted, and I didn’t see the sign. If I had known, I never would had been riding my bike on an illegal path.”

The officer harrumphed and jotted something down on his notepad. “Well, I’m afraid whether you knew or not, what you did there was an obvious violation—”

“Is there a problem, Inspector Javert?” Cosette asked brightly as she stepped into the room, bearing two cups of coffee. “Marius here is a friend of mine, and of Papa’s.”

The officer — Inspector Javert — turned a curious shade of red. “Your young friend here violated traffic code 24-60, paragraph 1, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to issue him a citation.”

Cosette smiled at him. “Don’t you think he’s been punished enough?” she asked, gesturing at Marius in the hospital bed, and Marius did his best to look suitably pitiful (not a difficult task, to be sure). “Perhaps you could let it slide, just this once?”

Though Javert looked hesitant still, he finally shook his head and acquiesced, “Fine. But I’m going to be keeping an eye on you for a long time,” glaring at Marius who couldn’t help but quake slightly (and who was suddenly tempted to never commit another crime as long as he lived, no matter how small an infraction).

Then Javert left, leaving Marius and Cosette alone together for the first time since this whole thing started. “Here,” Cosette said, suddenly feeling awkward, handing Marius one of the cups of coffee. “I thought you could probably use a little pick-me-up.”

Marius smiled his thanks but hesitated before drinking it. “Do you think I should?” he asked, a little anxiously. “They put me on some pretty heavy pain killers.”

Cosette eyed the bottle of prescription-strength ibuprofen next to his bed and hid a smile. “I think you’ll be fine.” Marius nodded seriously and took a sip of coffee, and Cosette did the same before asking, “So why _were_ you riding your bike on a pedestrian pathway?”

“Oh,” Marius said, blushing. “It’s rather stupid. I was following you.” Cosette’s eyes widened and Marius blushed even redder. “I mean, not like that,” he practically yelped. “I mean, I wasn’t, like, stalking you or something, I promise, I, uh, I had noticed you earlier and thought you were very pretty and thought maybe I’d follow you and hopefully catch your name or something and—” He cut himself off, looking positively horrified. “I sound like I belong in an episode of _Law and Order: SVU_.”

Cosette couldn’t help herself — she laughed. “For better or for worse, that’s actually very sweet of you.”

“You really think so?” Marius asked, his face still crimson.

“I really do.” She leaned forward to tell him in a conspiratorial whisper, “But next time you want to get my attention, you might try just saying hello instead of riding your bike into a tree.”

Then she kissed his cheek, and for the second time that day, Marius Pontmercy passed out.


End file.
